1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to information retrieval.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional health monitoring systems provide detailed information about blood pressure, weight, pulse rate, blood pressure and the like. The information from these systems is accumulated and or dynamically downloaded for further analysis. Typically, these devices are permanently or dynamically associated with a specific subject or user. For example, conventional blood pressure monitors such as the CVS blood pressure monitor, allow a number of subjects to record their historical blood pressure information into system memory by manually specifying their identity each time they use the device. One drawback of these systems is that the information is isolated within the device. The user must write down the information to manually create reports for health providers. Some conventional health device manufacturers have addressed these problems by providing interfaces that allow the devices to be accessed over a communications link. For example, the CVS blood pressure monitor offers a module to connect the blood pressure device to a computer. Once uploaded to the computer, the health information is more easily shared with the health provider.
Although useful, these communication-enabled health devices require explicit indications of association between the user and the corresponding health device. These conventional health devices are also difficult to share among multiple users or members of a typical household. This increases the costs associated with gathering and using the information in health related tasks.